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3 Tips to Crowdfund a Bootcamp Loan

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You've spent the last few months researching bootcamps (on Course Report of course), applied to a few, and woke up to an acceptance email to your dream bootcamp. Congratulations! You're super excited since this is your ticket to your dream job. You're ready for the next chapter of your life.

As the adrenaline wears off, a fog of fear rolls in. "How am I going to afford the tuition and the living expenses for the bootcamp?"" You do a quick search and you find a handy resource.

"Credit score," "education," "non-US citizens..." These factors will determine whether you'll get a loan at 3.5%, 19%, or no loan at all. Want a deferral? Good luck.

What if there's a platform that doesn't care about any of these things? What if it helped you tap into your network who knows and trusts you? WeFinance is a crowdfunding platform that helps you get a loan for tuition or living. You decide the interest rate. You decide the deferral period. Your loan, your rules (with no hidden fees).

Sounds great? Read the tips below on how to create a successful crowdfunded listing on WeFinance!

#1 It's About Storytelling

Maybe you used to be in the military, or were a bartender, or want to disrupt education. Tell your story about why you're going to a bootcamp, your future aspirations, and why people should lend to you.

Your network doesn't know what coding bootcamps are or why they matter? This is your chance to show them that you've spent time making this decision and data behind the success of bootcamps. One successful borrower, Edgar, was sure to show lenders exactly how ready he was to start a coding bootcamp: "I have studied on my own using sites like codecademy, code school, eloquent javascript, and most recently, Bloc.io's full stack course on building rails apps (you can check out some of my work on github: https://www.github.com/shadedprofit)."

Borrowers who use WeFinance raise money at better interest rates — with better terms and deferrals — than other online lenders because they're telling an aspirational story about how they want to improve their career.

You're more than a number. Tell your story.

#2 Talk to Family and Friends

Your family and friends want to help you succeed. They just don't know how. Don't be afraid to ask for help. A lot of this stems from a fear of failure or rejection. It's hard to get away from this because it's deeply ingrained into how we think and act.

Propose it as an investment. It's not a handout. It's a loan agreement between you and them at an interest rate that's fair for the both of you. The lender gets a good rate that's significantly better than what they would get in their bank account, while helping someone they know and care about.

Have your friends, family, and colleagues write a short testimonial about why you're trustworthy or why they lent to you. This does wonders for lenders who are on the fence or lenders who don't know you in person but want to help.

#3 Don't Be Afraid to Share

The number one reason for a failed listing is that borrowers are unwilling to share — they're worried that others would judge them negatively. Remember, you're borrowing money to improve your career. Would you have this fear if you were studying to be a doctor or doing your MBA?

Figure out how often you want to share your listing, be it daily or weekly. Will you share your campaign on Facebook or Twitter?

Is your network already tapped out? Reach out to alum of the bootcamp who know how life-changing the program can be and ask them to lend to you.

For more information about WeFinance, check out their website here. Have you tried crowdfunding your bootcamp tuition? What tips do you have for future bootcampers? Tell us in the comments!